Finding Friends in the Darkness
by DollLovestoRead
Summary: Just one friend, no matter how small, can have far-reaching consequences. One friend, one choice, creates a domino effect with an outcome Harry could have never expected.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any form other than my copies of the books and movies so any characters you recognize are the work of J.K. Rowling and not myself. I do own this story though and I do not give permission for anyone to repost it on this site or anywhere else under this name or any others.

The light peeking through from under the door gave the tiny room enough illumination to keep it from total darkness though that distinction did not mean much to the little boy who lived there. Darkness was what he knew. He lived in it and wept in it. His dreams and his playtime all happened in the dark where no one could take them away from him. Where no one could give him another chore just to get rid of him. Harry Potter loved the darkness his cupboard gave him.

Little Harry slept on the old cot mattress from his cousin's baby crib, Dudley had outgrown the crib ages before but Harry still fit with room to spare. The mattress was tucked into the little space under the lowest of the stairs. He could curl up there with the raggedly old crimson blanket embroidered with a golden HJP and forget everything else existed. Even when his Uncle Vernon opened the cupboard door to drag Harry out and into the light of day, if Harry was on his mattress he was safe. The door was much too small, and his Uncle Vernon much too large, so he could not reach Harry and had resorted to yelling to wake the toddler.

Every morning was the same routine for them. His Uncle Vernon's shouting woke him and Harry got to leave his cupboard to use the loo before he started chores. Harry couldn't really remember a time when he didn't have chores. He had always been told to follow Dudley around and pick up the toys he left on the floor to put them away. When this first started he had thought he was supposed to play with the toys as well but his Aunt Petunia quickly set him to rights with a slap. Recently he had gained the chore of dusting the lower shelves of the cabinets and scrubbing the floor with the bucket of soapy water his Aunt prepared for him.

Whenever he did the chores really well, he was allowed to have some milk or cereal. But that was rare. Usually he subsisted on water and stale bread so he looked much younger than his three years and much thinner than he should be. But despite the vitriol of his family, Harry was still happy when he was safely ensconced in his cupboard, for there, he had friends.

Every night he would talk himself to sleep telling the spiders who inhabited his cupboard about his day. This was a continuing tradition from when he babbled to himself when he first came to the Dursley house. Even in the darkness, Harry could feel the spiders as they walked over him and knew that others were there in the corners watching him. They were the only ones he talked to since he was not allowed to speak to the Dursleys and he liked to imagine that they loved him like parents would.

…

"The worst thing is the dark," asserted Sally, "You can never tell -"

"You're wrong! It's clowns that are the scariest," Jake interrupted.

"Clowns are funny, not scary," Anna proclaimed, "And the dark is just the dark. But spiders are scarier than anything! They are everywhere and lots of them can kill you. My mum always runs away when there's a spider and she's a police officer so she's super brave."

"Your mom's a police officer? Wow!"

The children were sitting at the table beneath the large English oak tree Harry had climbed into. He really hadn't meant to eavesdrop, he just wanted to get away from the other kids so he could read. Harry had found the most wonderful place today before his Year 1 class started, the library.

He had learned to read over the last year or so since his Aunt had begun writing him a list of chores to complete instead of telling him. She had not been pleased when he hadn't finished the chores and didn't accept the excuse of not knowing which ones she wanted done so reading had been a necessary skill to learn. That helped him now, most of the other children had attended Reception the year before and worked on letters, numbers, and reading picture books. Dudley got to go to Reception but Uncle Vernon was not going to pay for Harry to go as well.

Before today's class he was able to explore the library and he even checked out a book. The same book that he carried up here into the tree so he could read without the others bothering him. Spiders and Their Kin looked like it had everything he'd need to finally be able to tell what kind of spiders all his friends were.

"Spiders are just like me," Harry whispered to himself, "Everyone gets scared and runs away or tries to hit them, just like everyone on Privet Drive does with me. But no one actually tries to get to know us. The Dursleys lie about me to all the neighbors about my nasty attitude and horrible tantrums but if anyone talked to me they'd know that I'm not like that all.

"Here they are! Black Lace Weavers are found most often in gardens or dark, humid areas in and around homes. That explains why those ones are out in the garden and in my cupboard, the only airflow I've got is through the door slot and under the door so it's very warm. False Black Widows are extremely common in buildings or other sheltered areas, and they are also called Cupboard Spiders. Well that's right!"

The bell rang and the children who had been chattering beneath Harry all ran off to make it back in time for line up with the teacher. Harry tried to hurry down but sitting the whole time on the tree branch made his bum fall asleep and he almost slipped so he had to be extra careful. Thankfully he could run fast even with a tingly bum and he made it just in time to check in before they all returned to the classroom.

…

"Well, is everyone comfortable now? I hope I got everyone from downstairs settled in under the bed, if I missed someone they'll have to find their own way up. We have quite a bit more room to move around in Dudley's second bedroom and you guys won't even have to worry about me getting in the way for most of the year! I will be leaving, for months! Months free from the Dursleys and learning magic, it's like all of my dreams came true in one day.

"I even got to learn about my parents today! They were good people, Dad wasn't a drunken layabout and Mum was not a drugged up whore. They were nice people who fought against a madman just because he was wrong. There was no one making them fight but they did it anyways just because it was the right thing to do. I don't think I've ever done anything just because it was right, I hope they aren't disappointed if I'm not like them.

"I don't really know if the wizarding world will be any better than the muggle one though. Neither one seems fond of people who can think for themselves. All the neighbors and teachers believe whatever the Dursleys say about me no matter how false they can see it is and there I'm famous. Everyone seems to think I did some kind of miracle level of magic when I was only a baby and saved them from this Lord Voldemort character. But I was a baby! So no way could I have done anything that awesome. Babies just eat and cry and poop and sleep, no amazing feats of magical prowess here," Harry laughed aloud as he finished his monologue to his spider friends.

He continued to chuckle at the absurdity of the wizarding world's thoughts as he laid out his new belongings before organizing them into his multi-compartment trunk. It was an investment Hagrid didn't seem to approve of but Harry was never one to let an adult's disapproval impede him. He had splurged a bit to make sure he would be completely safe, in the magical and the muggle world.

The first three sections of his trunk were fairly standard as wizarding trunks go. He had a wardrobe section that pulled up from a handle with various cubby holes and drawers, plus a whole section for hanging robes so they weren't wrinkled. Harry had gone a bit overboard buying clothes at Madam Malkin's in addition to the school uniform so it took awhile for him to finish unpacking and repacking everything from the bags into the appropriate spots.

The next section was a marvel by itself though, a rotating library compartment. When you opened that section there would be two shelves available for you to look at and fill but if you pushed the shelf down into the trunk it would switch with the next set. Harry filled the first set with all of the assigned textbooks so that whenever he got his bag ready for class he could get the text he needed quickly. Once those were in he moved on to the next shelf and filled it with the books he had found that looked like they would help him get accustomed to the magical world. The rest of the shelves he would leave empty for now but they would be waiting for any new books he found.

The third standard compartment Harry had was the regular trunk set-up, just the amount of space that you would expect when you opened the trunk. This would hold all of the cumbersome pieces of equipment and the odds and ends he wanted to bring. The pewter cauldron size 2 fit perfectly and took up a good third of the space but other than that Harry really only needed it for his telescope, scales, quill and parchment supplies, and potions ingredients. If he ever bought a broom there was a special hook inside the lid of this section to hold a shrunken broom so it wouldn't roll around and break.

However, Harry's most amazing purchase of the day was the fourth compartment for his trunk, the apartment compartment. A relatively small one-bedroom, one bathroom flat, fully furnished and ventilated with magic. It came supplied with two cold boxes that were operated by an elf run grocery store type place according to the trunk maker. All he would need to do is place a list of his grocery needs inside the cold box and the box would transport it to the company, who would fill the request. Harry would have to pay for the service yearly but that was a small concern when it meant he would always have food.

The apartment in general meant that Harry would almost never have to worry about the Dursleys. They would not be able to pick up or even touch the trunk, while he was inside it or when it was sitting unattended. And he could shrink it down with a wand tap, but not a spell, so he didn't have to worry about trouble with the Ministry for doing magic or trouble lugging around a heavy trunk larger than himself. Magic was amazing!

…

Harry rushed past the large clan of redheads waiting on the muggle of side of Platform 9 ¾, his relatives had purposely dropped him off late for the Hogwarts Express and he wasn't sure if he would make it in time. Thankfully, _A Muggleborn Guide to Wizarding Britain_ detailed the entrance to the platform since Hagrid seemed to have forgotten that bit of information when he gave Harry his ticket. He was scared to miss the train and have to go back to Privet Drive like it was all a joke. A mean prank planned to make Harry have hope that he could get away from them only to dash all of his dreams.

He ran through the barrier and wove through the families saying their goodbyes quickly, he did not stop running until he had set foot on the train. He could not take any chances. If Harry had looked back, he would have seen the redheaded mother from the other side hurrying her children through the platform behind him while looking anxious and worried. But even if he had noticed the woman, he could never have known that she was looking for him to make sure he arrived safely.

The sigh of relief he let out as he walked through the first train car was the only sound he made as he looked into the various compartments he passed. Many of the first ones seemed to be older students and none had an empty seat. Once Harry reached the third car there were more open seats but still no empty compartments, he had wanted to avoid people if he could. Harry had never really held a conversation with someone outside of his spiders and that was really just to himself. He answered politely if a teacher called on him but avoided the other children and was spoken to but could not respond to the Dursleys.

"C'mon ladies, she's a sweetheart, I promise! Airran is a tarantula, so you don't even have to worry about venom or anything. Just let her walk over your hand and move the empty hand over so she can keep going."

A loud Irish accent resonated down the hallway Harry was in and he froze at the word tarantula to listen for more. If someone else here liked spiders then that was definitely someone he wanted to get to know. Shrieks and yelps sounded after the boy finished speaking, probably from the ladies he had addressed.

"Excuse us!"

"Coming through!"

"Make way!"

"Autograph signing-"

"Will be at 2, ladies!" Two very similar voices were shouting as they walked down the hallway and Harry looked back at them, but despite their warnings for others to move, there was no one in the hallway but them.

"Well, lookie here-"

"I'd say we got-"

"Ourselves a firstie-"

"A spying firstie!"

"Quite right, brother mine."

"Now what is the-"

"Spying firstie spying on?" The verbal tennis match was amusing but hurt his head a bit as he turned it side to side to keep looking at the one talking. Harry would need to remedy that. Perhaps only moving his eyes to the one talking while facing the space between them?

"I heard someone talking about something that I found interesting is all, I wanted to find out more before seeing if I could join the people. They are ahead of us in a compartment and they have a tarantula, do you like spiders?"

"We're not scared-"

"But like seems a-"

"Bit strong of a word."

"However, our friend-"

"Told us he'd be-"

"Bringing a new friend-"

"This year, who'd-"

"Have eight legs."

"Come, we'll-"

"Introduce you!" Each boy grabbed a hand and dragged Harry forward to the open compartment. Inside three girls were sitting across from a grinning dreadlocked boy allowing a tarantula to walk across his hands calmly. Each of the girls was beautiful in their own right, but also completely different; and of the three only one looked like she was actually afraid of the spider held by the boy.

"We found you-"

"An admirer, Lee-"

"Or should we say-"

"Airran. This firstie-"

"Was listening outside-"

"The compartment."

"Seems he likes spiders!" The twins left him in the doorway to sit down on either side of the grinning boy, who was now looking at Harry with interest.

"I've never seen a tarantula before but spiders were my only friends all my life, I'll be gentle if you let me hold her, I promise. I've let spiders walk over my hands before so I'm used to the movement and the feel from their feet," Harry said earnestly. He was truly excited to play with the spider, it was bigger than any spider he had seen outside of the zoo. Even that was only the one time he saw the spiders at the zoo for Dudley's birthday this summer.

"Sure! C'mon, take up a seat and hold out your hands. These three gorgeous ladies are Angelina, Alicia, and Katie; the two dolts who brought you over are Fred and George; I am Lee and this here is Airran," Lee stated as he placed the tarantula on Harry's outstretched hands.

"Thank you Lee! My name's Harry Potter, but before you get all excited, all those books about me are full of lies. I grew up in the muggle world so no defeating dragons or werewolves and such for me. I only found out about magic a month ago so even though I'm famous here, I'd like it if you didn't treat me like a celebrity. I'm just Harry."

…

Harry trudged up to the Gryffindor Common Room feeling like he had been run over by a lorry at least twice. It was only three days in! He hadn't even attended all of the first year classes yet but he knew he needed help if he wanted to pass. While he had Defense Against the Dark Arts thrice a week on his schedule, he knew after just two class periods that tutoring was a necessity. In that class specifically, he seemed to develop a horrendous, debilitating headache. Between the headache and Professor Quirrell's stuttering, he hadn't learned a single thing in the class!

Hopefully Lee, Fred, or George would be able to help him. They were all third years so they should know what he needed to learn but if their professor in first year was as bad as Quirrell they might not have passed either. And they all had more classes since they had just started their electives this week so they might be too busy to help. He wouldn't know unless he asked though, even just some book recommendations would be great, the assigned text just had drivel from what he could tell.

As he entered the Common Room, Harry could hear the twins at the entrance from their position on the other side of the room near the windows. They had set up court in one of the fireside seating areas by the window surrounded by many of their yearmates as they regaled everyone with one of their more daring after curfew pranking adventures. Apparently they had finished off the previous year with a school-wide prank applied to the benches in the Great Hall on the final day of classes. One hour after the person sat down the spell would activate and turn the person into a housecat almost identical to Professor McGonagall's animagus form.

Everyone knew it had been them but since the spell activated an hour after each person sat down almost everyone had been caught before the first person was transformed so no one could prove it. The spell had been applied very early in the morning and by the time people went to look for it, the spell had dispersed and the magical residue was inconclusive. Still, McGonagall had called them to her office today to find out how they had managed it. If they had been able to accomplish magic of that magnitude, they should be doing much better in their classes.

But to them, class was boring. It was standard and not innovative at all, they wanted to discover and invent, not go by the book like everyone else. McGonagall had offered the two individualised tutoring catered to their interests, but only if they could prove they could handle the regular class work this term without slacking on their pranking endeavours.

Harry was downhearted as he approached the gathering of older students near the end of the story. If the twins had to complete their regular classwork at their best, plus the new electives, and keeping up with their pranks they wouldn't have much time to help him. Maybe Lee would be free though. As some of the students got up to leave, Harry caught Lee before he could get to far in the Common Room.

"Lee, could you help me with something really quick? I just wanted to know if you could recommend a book for Defense? Or to tutor me if you had the time? I can't seem to understand anything Quirrell says and every class I get a headache, probably from all that garlic he's got in there. I thought you might know something to help me learn outside of class."

"Yeah dude, would you want the book or the tutoring? I've got some free time so I can do either but I don't know how much time you wanna put into the rest of your homework."

"I'd really prefer the tutoring, I can handle essays pretty well and I studied the assigned books before the train as much as I could. I haven't had any trouble so far with the work in the other classes, though I still have a couple we haven't had yet. Do you have time right now?"

"I'm free 'til dinner, I was gonna work on my own homework while I had the time but this works too. I'll get a review in by teaching you," Lee chuckled while he walked over to the arrangement of study tables in the middle of the Common Room. "Okay, you set up your stuff, I'll go find my notes and book from first year, we had a pretty good professor that year. Keep everything, organised by class if you can. It's supposed to make OWLs a ton easier."

...

"This," said Wood, "is the golden snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the chasers, beaters, bludgers, and quaffle to get to it before the other team's seeker, because whichever seeker catches the snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages - I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. Well, that's it - any questions?"*

Harry and Wood were off to the side of the Quidditch pitch while the rest of the team was doing drills in the air on the other end. This was Harry's first practice with them since he had been rescued from expulsion by McGonagall and put onto the team. Harry had been certain that 'wood' was some kind of ruler or cane for punishment since the professor had seemed so disappointed and angry while dragging him through the halls.

Wood had been giving an almost constant monologue since Harry's appointment. Every moment he could, he was giving Harry tips for flying or going over game history and technique drills. Even now, on the field, Wood was reviewing information he had already been told over the past week. But all this reviewing meant Harry really felt ready to start flying with the team and proving that he had earned this spot even though he hadn't actually meant to.

"Let's get in the air, Potter. I've set five practice snitches free, now they move faster than game snitches but they make themselves known more often. Good for practicing your turns and catching. You get all the snitches and I'll watch your form in the air, give you tips. If you catch them all before the rest finish their drills, I'll run through some seeker drills with you so you can work on those next practice while I critique the rest of the team."

It was an exhausted and disheveled team that trooped into the locker rooms as the sun was setting behind the castle. The snitches had been a fast find for Harry. His vision, though poor by genetics, was sharp when he searched for something that was hiding from him. Once he had found them all, Wood had shown him how to do a Sloth Grip Roll and a Wronski Feint, though Wood said he didn't expect Harry to perform a Wronski in game for a few months.

He shuffled to the corner of the locker room to get out of his muddy uniform, he would need a shower before he could put his new clothes on. They were some of the nice clothes he bought to wear on weekends so he was not going to get them muddy just to avoid showering where someone could see just how skinny he was. He hated how his bones stuck out all the time but with all the food he was able to eat here that should be solved soon. Hopefully.

He could hear the three older guys joking around as he slowly padded into the shower room, talking about one of the elective professors he hadn't met yet. If he was lucky they wouldn't even notice Harry walking in. But his luck had run out and as soon as Harry stepped into the hallway between the stalls the other boys looked over to him.

"Great job, kid! You - " Wood started before he realized how tiny his new player was and stared at Harry in shock.

"Harry, why are you-"

"So skinny? We can-"

"See all your ribs!"

"Erm...well...you see, my family, they don't like me too much so I've never really got a lot to eat. I know I'm small, but I've been eating here as much as I can so I promise I'll be good for the season Wood! I won't pass out or something from hunger."

"I'd be more concerned about a strong wind blowing you off the broom! Okay, change of plans for tonight. You shower up really quick Harry, then we are going to Pomfrey. I know you're eating here but we need to make sure you're healthy and safe to fly."

"What? You can't take me off the the team, I loved it today! I'll eat as much as you want, just don't kick me off."

"I'm not going to kick you off the team, I just want to make sure you are as healthy as possible. This is a rough game, I think a bludger would break you in half right now kid. We need to get you bulked up and Pomfrey can help with that."

As he laid in the Hospital Wing that night Harry was regretting going to take that shower. Sure, Madam Pomfrey was sure that by the end of the year, with a daily regimen of nutrition potions and monthly doses of muscle and bone strengtheners, Harry would be the size he should as an almost twelve-year-old. No more being shorter than everyone in his grade and no more bones showing through his skin! But before he could start building up and out, she had to fix the problems caused by the broken bones he had had over the years.

Thankfully, the Dursleys had been mostly satisfied with taking away food and giving him chores so he had only had a few actual injuries caused by his uncle's anger management problems. That still meant he had to take this horrible tasting Skele-Gro potion to regrow the bones she removed for being healed incorrectly. He would have to stay here overnight as they regrew so she could monitor his pain levels and make sure the bones grew in how they were supposed to. Then he would start his new potions tomorrow with his breakfast before he was released for what was left of the weekend.

…

The first term of his magical education was officially ending tomorrow but tonight was the Gryffindor End of Term Party, organized by the oh so wonderful Weasley Twins, who had gotten into a spot of trouble at the moment with their brother Percy for 'procuring inappropriate refreshments.' Apparently, Ogden's Firewhiskey was not allowed for any student under 17. The butterbeer was free game though no matter the age so Harry had swiped a mug to sip as he sat by the fire.

Truly this year had been magical, and not even in the sense of learning magic but because he had actually made friends. Real friends who cared about him and helped him when he was struggling. Sometimes they pushed when he needed it and other times they allowed him to just cuddle up with them on one of the sofas while he thought. Everyone was older than him so he couldn't do much to help besides offering the sage advice of 'boys are stupid,' when Angelina, Katie, and Alicia had boy problems. It seemed to work at cheering them up so they stopped crying and that was good enough for him.

Though he had classes with his dorm mates and got along with the students in his year well, he hadn't grown as close to them like he had the team. There was just some kind of camaraderie with his teammates that made them all work together well, on and off the pitch. Ollie encouraged him and made sure he picked up his potions from Pomfrey every week; Lee helped him with Defense; Fred and George tutored him in the fine art of pranks as well as the Charms and Potions needed for them; Alicia taught him the pureblood stuff he'd need to know when he took over his family Lordship that he hadn't even known about; Katie always made sure he took breaks to wander around the castle or play Exploding Snap so it wasn't all work, all the time; and Angie had become a big sister in the short few months since they met on the train.

She held him when he finally grieved for his parents deaths on Halloween, giving up going to the feast just to stay with him. She gave him style tips and managed to tame his 'doxie nest of a head' so that he could actually look presentable. She taught him the little spells wizard raised kids learned from their parents to do things like set alarms, brush their teeth, and make the bed. Spells that weren't covered in the muggleborn books since they were taught as a way to help children control accidental magic before they received their wands.

And it was thanks to Angelina that he would be having his first Christmas this year. She had gotten her parents to agree to let Harry come visit for the hols so he wouldn't have to stay at Hogwarts. Though the Weasley's were all staying this year, Angelina had wanted him to have a family holiday, not a school holiday with the teachers and the kids who stayed.

…

Harry was digging into and under everything in the room he had been staying in for the past few weeks, trying to find everything he'd need for the coming term. Tomorrow the train would return everyone to Hogwarts so he needed to finish packing his trunk tonight. But where was his other thick blue woolen sock? He had only received them for Christmas, he couldn't have lost it already.

This Christmas had been everything Harry had ever dreamt of and more; all of the holiday fun he had seen the other kids have but never got to experience plus an actual family. When Angie's dads had pulled him into the study when everyone else went to the family room to watch Disney's new movie _Fantasia_ he had been super nervous. Sure, they had been nice to him so far but what if they wanted him to leave?

Harry couldn't have been more wrong though; they wanted him to stay! Both of them had been really worried about his life at the Dursley's based on everything Angie had written to them, especially after she told them he wouldn't be welcome for the holidays. So Mr. Johnson had gone to his dad, who worked in the Ministry of Magic's Wizarding Child Services office, and gotten all of the paperwork they would need to adopt Harry. 'Just in case,' they said, since they weren't sure if he would like them or if he would fit in well with the rest of the family.

Apparently his response of playing tickle monster with seven-year-old Tiffany on Christmas morning when she woke him jumping on his bed at five in the morning was the kind of big brother thing they had wanted to see. If he acted like a part of the family before being a part of it, it was a good sign that he would fit in. They had done similar test periods each time they had adopted; once with Angie and her big brother Ryan after Death Eaters killed their parents and again when a three-year-old Tiffany was removed from her mother's care for her own safety.

Even the confrontation with Headmaster Dumbledore couldn't deter him from grinning as wide as his face would allow when they Flooed to the Ministry to submit his adoption forms. Apparently the headmaster had been his magical guardian despite the fact they had never officially met and he had never done anything to help Harry when he was growing up. The headmaster claimed that he had placed some lady named Figg to watch over him who apparently didn't know who she was supposed to watch.

Figg had told Dumbledore, who then told the other professors, all about the lazy bully who lived at Number 4 Privet Drive. The boy who slacked off in school and did anything he could to get his cousin into trouble for his actions both at school and at home. Figg had never been close enough to see the lightning bolt scar that the boy was supposed to have but he was the right age and had the smugness that comes naturally to purebloods like the boy's father had been.

Harry then understood some of the looks and comments from the professors over the past term. He hadn't been able to figure out how anything he did came across as arrogant or lazy to the professors who he had just met. He worked hard in class and never skived off or acted like he was better than the other students. If anything he had been painfully modest in lessons, feeling like he was years behind his peers and not wanting to draw attention to himself.

Dumbledore's only act as his magical guardian had been to place wards around his relatives house that only monitored Harry's presence within the wards and his life status so he had no idea what the Dursley's had done. He promised to make both mistakes up to Harry and correct the other professors knowledge as well so the next term should be even better than the last. But nothing could top the Christmas Harry got a family.

The End

Spiders and their Kin is an actual book originally published in 1968 by Lorna Levi and Herbert Zim but I have no idea if these spiders are listed with the information I gave about them.

Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone


End file.
